


Raven's Shrine

by CatrinaSL



Series: Critical Role Relationship Week [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Critical Role Relationship Week, Gen, Missing Scene, Religious Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 03:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11431791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: Zahra and Pike set up the shrine to the Raven Queen in Whitestone. A Critical Role missing scene.





	Raven's Shrine

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for [Critical Role Relationship Week](http://percyvex.tumblr.com/post/156591402338/cinderfell-what-is-critical-role-relationship) on tumblr. The pairing was chosen by a randomizer, and was originally posted [on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/156946985468/ravens-shrine).
> 
> **Spoilers for Episode 57.**
> 
> Mentions of alcohol and blood (because The Raven Queen).

Zahra heard a frustrated huff as she approached the door to the half finished temple of Sarenrae. When she peeked inside, Pike was sitting there in front of the altar, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Zahra didn’t want to bother the cleric, but she had no idea how to go about completing the task she’d been asked to perform.

“Oh no,” Pike said, letting out a disappointed sigh.

“Are you all right?” Zahra asked.

“Oh!” Pike started and twisted around.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt, darling,” Zahra began.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Pike told her. She stood and stepped away from the altar. “I was just… the team, they went to the Feywild, and I felt like I should have gone with them, so I was meditating, and I was there for a while, but then… I wasn’t. And I can’t get the connection back. It’s frustrating.”

Zahra had never heard of someone being able to project themselves across the planes. Pike was definitely the right person to ask about her mission.

“I’m… sorry about that,” she mumbled, and fidgeted a little, not quite knowing how to change the subject without sounding selfish. After a moment of awkward silence, Zahra decided that it was impossible, so she just plowed on. “I was hoping I could ask you for a favor.”

“Sure, how can I help?” Despite the fact that she had just found herself unable to aid her friends who were almost certainly in danger (because when weren’t they?), Pike seemed very eager to do whatever she could for Zahra.

“Well, Percy left me this,” she revealed the small vial in her hand, “and he wants me to set up some sort of shrine in the graveyard. I’ve done the heavy lifting, but I have no idea how he expects me to know anything about how to actually make it into a holy place. I asked Kash, but…”

Zahra paused, thinking of her best friend’s response: “I don’t know anything about that stuff. The only thing I’ve got of… _her_ … is this.” He directed a thumb toward his holy symbol. “Anything more than that might… get her attention. And nobody wants that.” 

She shrugged. “He’s not much of a… stay in one spot type of cleric,” she told Pike. “And you’re building this temple, so I hoped you could help…”

“I—I mean, sure,” Pike said. “Who is the god?”

“Will that… change the way things are done?” Zahra asked.

“Yeah, maybe,” Pike replied.

“Well, it’s… the Raven Queen,” Zahra told her.

“Oh.” Pike frowned. “I don’t know that much about the Raven Queen, actually.”

Zahra looked down at the vial of blood in her hand. “Neither do I,” she said. “How am I supposed to do this?”

“Well, let’s go check it out before we give up, okay?” Pike said, putting an encouraging hand on Zahra’s arm.

Zahra led Pike to the graveyard and to the mausoleum in question. 

“Okay,” Pike said, staring up at its imposing facade. “This could work.”

Zahra had no idea what could possibly have changed on the walk over.

“Have you ever been to the Raven Queen’s temple in Vassalheim?” Pike asked.

“No,” Zahra shook her head. “I’ve been to the Duskmeadow a few times, but the temple is, well…”

Pike nodded. “I know what you mean. I went there with Vax the last time we were in town, and I… this kind of has the same feel, don’t you think?”

Zahra had no idea, so she shrugged. “Do you think it could work?”

“Sure,” Pike said, and pushed the door open to go inside. “We just find a good space for the altar, and then…”

Pike kept talking, but Zahra zoned out a little. She did help Pike sweep out the mausoleum and fetched candles and placed the relic that Percy had entrusted to her just where Pike told her to.

“Now what?” Zahra asked, as the two of them stood in the doorway to survey their work.

“Well, if this were a temple of Sarenrae, I’d pray, and ask her to come and meet me in the place I’d prepared for her,” Pike said. “But I feel like if I did that here, even if I was praying to the Raven Queen, that the shrine might be a little… Sarenrae-flavored?”

Zahra looked at Pike, bewildered.

Pike tried to fumble an explanation: “Like when you put a shot of fire water in your mug of ale. It’s not ale anymore because there’s fire water in it. Know what I mean?”

Zahra didn’t. “No, but it does make me want a drink,” she said.

Pike laughed. “Okay, but after.” She looked into the empty shrine and sighed. “Maybe we could just… talk to her?”

“All right…”

“I’ll go first.” Pike squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, then looked into the shrine as though the Raven Queen was standing there. Zahra took a critical look inside to make sure she wasn’t.

“Hi,” Pike said into the empty air. “I’m Vax’s friend Pike, and uh… I just wanted to let you know that you can come hang out here in this shrine if you want, so that, uh, Vax can come talk to you when he’s here. He needs you, and, well, we need him, so… I hope you like it here, and, uh… say hi to Sarenrae for me!”

Pike then turned to Zahra, an expectant look on her face.

“Uh, okay,” Zahra said uncertainly. She turned toward the room and cleared her throat. “Raven Queen,” she called. “It would be very good of you to make use of this space.” She glanced at Pike, not sure she was doing things correctly, but Pike nodded at her with a sunny grin. “We, uh, we did a lot of work on it, and I’m sure you can appreciate that. And…” Zahra shot another look at Pike. “That’s all,” she finished.

“That was good!” Pike told her.

“How do we know if it worked, though?” Zahra asked.

Pike shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to wait until Vax gets back, or… I don’t know. I can come in and check on it, make sure it’s clean and the candles are lit.”

“I can help with that,” Zahra said.

“That would be great!” Pike told her, reaching over to take hold of the door to tug it closed.

“Wait,” Zahra said. Pike paused, and Zahra peered into the dim candlelit room.

There, on the altar before the small vial of blood that Percy had brought from Vassalheim, was a single raven feather.

“Was that… did you put that there?” Pike asked.

Zahra slowly shook her head.

“Well, congratulations,” Pike said with a grin. “You just gave Whitestone its very first shrine to the Raven Queen!”

Zahra couldn’t quite believe what she saw, but she leaned back and helped Pike close the doors.

“Now… about that drink…”

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/156946985468/ravens-shrine)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


End file.
